Anguish
by Vic12345
Summary: Kurama's human mother, Shiori, had died. As a result, Kazuya, her new husband, and his son, Shuichi, abandoned Kurama to grieve alone. The half-Youko is ready to leave the Ningenkai for good and the only one to comfort him is Hiei. HieixKurama
1. Chapter 1: The Night After

A/N: Hello everyone, I just have this really old fanfic that I wanted to share for sometime now. It actually has a lot of chapters. The problem is that it's not finished and it takes a lot of time editing, since my English sucked back then. Means that I will continue this, only if I see that you guys like it enough! So please, let me know if you like it, and if so, I'll publish the rest of the chapters.

Warning: OOCness (I try, I really try); **HieixKurama**; HieixMukuro; fluffiness, drama, action, friendship, romance; also sorry for bad English, currently, I don't have a beta reader.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho!

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><p><em>Anguish<em>

**The Night After**

Kurama stared at the full bottle for a long minute, cradling it in both his hands. He let it drop to his lap, feeling its cold surface through the thin fabric of his cotton pants. It was too quiet. The house was empty. It didn't make a lot of difference. He knew that he was alone, and yet, he'd been alone many nights in this room. No. This time, he knew that his loneliness would last forever. His mother shall never walk at the doorway again, late at night, coming home from late night shift. He'd never see her smile at him, never taste her cooking, hear her voice or wish her good night. She had died that same night, surrounded by yellowish hospital walls which reeked of disease.

He glanced down at his lap. The bottle was still there. He wanted to weep so hard so that all the neighborhood would hear his agony But he knew his place. He was the legendary Youko Kurama, Youkos never cried... Right? The only human who had kept him attached to this world had died. He pulled his hand over the cork, and opened the bottle, staring at its contents through the opening, suddenly resembling a deep never-ending dark pit. He would drawn himself with liqueur if needed. The redhead's lips neared the opening. He gulped it, sucking more and more like a thirsty animal, not allowing himself to get used to the bitter taste. He would let himself imagine it was the milk his human mother used to give him when he was a baby. It burned down his throat as though a punishment for his foolishness - a Youko who was grieving over a human.

The one crack that came form the window's direction startled him. It made him almost choke on his drink, and he jumped in surprise in his spot on the bed, his lips parting from the bottle of sake he had bought only half an hour ago.

He could hear the window being pushed open and then closed, and lifted his gaze to see a shady figure slipping silently into his bedroom, crossing it in the dark and approaching him. The darkness was chased away by a soft touch on the light switch, as the 'mysterious' figure could be seen now more clearly.

"Hiei..." he gasped, blinking at the light. He'd been sitting there in total darkness since he arrived home from hospital, staring so much that his eyes were now momentarily blinded by the sudden light. The fire demon grunted, and took his cloak off, tossing it over the chair that stood in front of Kurama's desk, as he usually did. Lately, he'd been visiting the red fox frequently, getting closer to the redhead demon than ever before.

As for Kurama, it wasn't so unusual to witness Hiei entering his bedroom, like a thief in the middle of the night, but it seemed that the redhead just forgot about Hiei's existence for those long minutes he had indulged himself in the complete darkness. He watched now blankly as the fire demon walked toward him, and took a seat on the edge of the bed. He could feel the mattress's sudden movement under his body, as his friend sat next to him, raising thin black eyebrows at the sight of the bottle resting between the half-Youko's legs.

"You're drinking." Hiei eyed the bottle.

After one long minute of silence, Kurama replied: "Yes, I am."

"And you look sick, too." the fire demon added. He watched the redhead, as the other sighed in grief once again, and waited. Figuring out that Hiei wouldn't quit staring at him until he spilled the beans, Kurama surrendered to the searching red eyes, and inhaled deeply, almost feeling the air filling his lungs.

"My mother died, Hiei." his voice came out weak, broken. He was even surprised at himself.

The smaller youkai scooted closer to him, and sat now fully on the bed "So this is why you're drinking." he concluded dryly, and took another glance at the bottle by the corner of his eye "Would you mind to give me a sip?"

Kurama's eyes widened, as if he just woke up from an horrible dream. Blinking, he handed the bottle to the fire demon. Hiei took the bottle and pushed himself backward, so that his back leaned against the wall next to the bed. Picking up the alcohol, he observed it for a brief moment before letting his lips touch its cold opening. He gulped it down then, as though it was water, until Kurama bothered to look at him, widening his eyes again, but said nothing. Hiei eyed him with the corner of his eye and had to stop drinking to not spill the liquid, as hw started to laugh mildly at Kurama's surprised face. He gave the redhead back the now half empty bottle, and licked his lips "Makai alcohol is better." he noted, revealing one pointy tooth. He watched as Kurama stared intensely at the bottle once again "Kurama... You should have known it'd be no good to get attached to someone, especial ningens." he said then softly, and lay on the bed, having his head next to Kurama's thighs.

"She... She was everything to me..." the redhead whispered "Everything that I never had." and now, it was all gone. He had thought that yes, once in his life, he had something stable, someone that he could always come back to, and was permanent. It wasn't like Makai, he wasn't wandering off anywhere here in the Ningenkai. And yet, here, in his mother's house, next to his mother, no, it was only her presence that made him feel so secured, she was home to him.

Hiei listened and closed his eyes. There was a pause, then a sucking sound. Kurama was drinking. The minutes passed in silence, as the redhead leaned his head back to the wall. It seems that Hiei fell asleep on the bed, but Kurama wasn't sure and didn't mind to know anyway. He returned to gaping at the bottle again, and sighed. He wasn't used to the bitterness of it. He had never been a drinker, and when he did drink as a Youko, it was probably a fine wine, maybe a sweet liquor. But no, he had never liked drinking from the bottle. His Youko side had its manners. And yet, he wanted to make his anguish to just go away, he wanted to forget it just for a little while. He wanted to make himself feel good again. He lifted the bottle once more, and gulped the strong liquid down, determined to empty it all, down to the last drop.

Watching hazily, Hiei was licking his lips at the sight of a mourning Kurama. He had never seen his friend like this before. He was amazed, so much amazed, and yet, the alcohol did affect his small body. It made him forget his own problems. After all, he had downed half of that bottle. But now, it all started to feel like a dream, a very heavy, and spirally dream. "That's right. Drink it all down, fox..." Hiei chuckled drunkenly, waving one arm in the air, and pointing his finger to the ceiling. Kurama breathed, as though he was encouraged by his friend's words, and took another sip from the bottle, feeling his eyes sting. He coughed some of it, and hiccuped after covering his mouth, somehow managing to keep on his manners even in his state.

"I loved her, Hiei..." he said softly, a warm tear rolling down his cheek "I want her here. With me..."

The fire demon opened his eyes forcefully when he heard a sniffling sound, and looked up at the redhead who started to sob to his hand, covering his face in shame. Hiei could see how red the half-Youko's face was, and the tears, so many tears being shed for the sake of one human. A human who other demons would gladly eat raw or cook for pleasure. Just a stinky human being. But Hiei knew better than underestimate humans. Kurama was maybe disgracing himself for one at the moment, and yet, after all they had been through with Yusuke, the fire demon could understand. He tried to sit up again, but couldn't, having his head spin, now. Instead, supported by both his hands, he raised up somewhat and fell on Kurama, wrapping his arms around his friend's shoulders loosely.

"There there, K'rama..." he rested his head against the redhead's shoulder "You make me feel (hic) sorry for you..." he muttered, and tried to stroke Kurama's back soothingly, managing to pet it instead. Touched by Hiei's words, the half-Youko slipped his arms around Hiei and hugged him back tightly, turning to cry shamelessly on the fire demon's shoulder.

"What do I do now...?" he murmured softly, his head heavy on Hiei's shoulder now. He could feel his eyes showering warmly to his cheek, rolling down to be absorbed in Hiei's shirt. His arms were locked tightly around the other, finding in him some comfort.

At the question Hiei cringed a little, feeling dizzy. As much as he hated to admit it, he wasn't much a drinker. Ningenkai alcohol affected him differently than Makai's, and the small size of his body didn't help at all. He wasn't one to comfort either, and yet, it seemed that the alcohol had warmed not only his body, but his heart as well "Fff...Forget her..." he mumbled, getting sleepy in Kurama's grip. Unconsciously, he let himself lean all of his weight against the half-Youko, causing them both to fall onto the bed, and what little that was left in the sake bottle to spill on the white sheets "Oops..." he said with lidded eyes, his arms still around Kurama who was now lying underneath him, feeling trapped under the drunk youkai, as he tried to push Hiei away.

"Hiei..." he struggled, feeling his arms week "Please, move." Hiei, who had his eyes closed for a long moment, woke up from Kurama's harsh movements and opened his eyes sleepily, meeting green deep eyes, stained tear cheeks, and one heck hot redhead before his very eyes.

"Wow..." he murmured, staring into emerald orbs "You're gorgeous." he suddenly leaned downward, and kissed the redhead clumsily, missing the lips "Oops..." he pecked the corner of Kurama's mouth, not really sure what he was doing, and where did those sensual looking lips disappeared to. As if by accident, or maybe fate, he felt their lips meet, his own melting against the other pair sloppily, finding them warm, yet of a bitter taste.

For a long moment, Kurama just felt Hiei's lips moving over his. It would be hard to say whether he was aware of his best friend kissing him, or he just found the situation as a very nice and dizzy little dream. Either way, his Youko half couldn't help but to respond, finding it all very comforting, as he wrapped his arms around the fire demon's neck "Hiei..." he moaned into the kiss, letting his arms half fall around Hiei's neck, his fingers threading together.

Trying to stay balanced now, but failing, the dark haired youkai let his head drop against Kurama's neck, nuzzling and kissing it sloppily. What a nice dream... Umm... He felt extremely exhausted... Without even realizing it, his eyelids drooped down heavily, as his head finally rested against the bed, and he fell asleep.

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><p><em>AN: Thank you for reading! Next chapter: "An Empty Family House"_


	2. Chapter 2: An Empty Family House

A/N: Hey everyone, sorry about the wait, I am very busy with my studies. Anyway, I bring you the second chapter of Anguish! It's going to be real slow at the beginning, and you'll notice it too, but I promise that after a few chapters there will be some action, too. And that's it, please enjoy reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own YuYu Hakusho!

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><p><strong>An Empty Family House<strong>

It was hard to breath, as he felt something tickle his nostrils. He tried to move, but there was something warm and heavy on top of his chest. The redhead opened his eyes, vaguely recalling what had happened the night before. He lifted his eyes to look up at Hiei, who was still sleeping on top of him, having his arms curled up against Kurama as his wild black hair half blocked the fox demon's nose. _"You look gorgeous."_The half Youko smiled at the memory. He always felt superior when youkai's fell for his beauty, he had to admit that it was fun. He had never excepted _Hiei_ to fall for it though, and it amused him. But then, they had been drunk, he reminded himself.

He pushed the sleeping youkai gently, and turned him to sleep on his back. He decided that he wouldn't talk about their kiss if Hiei didn't mentionit. He studied his friend's peaceful face. Hiei always looked so innocent in his sleep. It made Kurama smile again, this time, a bit sadly. His smile was soon to disappear though, when he suddenly gasped, holding to his stomach. He jumped from the bed and ran out of his room to the bathroom. He didn't bother to close the door behind him, and simply dropped to his knees before the toilet. He threw up, probably half the alcohol he had consumed yesterday. Feeling dizzy as he finished, he held onto the white porcelain and panted. He could feel a future head ache coming up. He shouldn't have drunk that much, he scolded himself.

"We drank quite a lot last night." he heard Hiei behind him, and turned his head to see his friend standing at the door. He nodded before standing up and flushing the toilet. He wasn't sure how he felt as a Youko, being seen by a fire demon in his state. His pride was surely crushed, and yet, he couldn't help but to trust Hiei. He knew that under all those defensive layers the other had worn, underneath, he was a very good person, the kind that would respect Kurama's privacy, even as a Youko. Maybe his life in the human world had softened him up.

"Are you feeling alright, Hiei? You drank more than I did." he spoke wearily.

The fire demon humphed "I just need to use the toilet." he shrugged.

"Oh." Kurama blinked at the answer before he turned on the water and washed his hands. He was a bit surprised Hiei would open up to him like that, but didn't say anything. The fire demon was full of surprises at times, and quite shameless, if Kurama might add. Of course, notions like 'shame' were used mainly among humans, but Youko's were highly private in their hygiene habits too, unlike other demon races. He opened a small drawer next to the sink and took out his hairbrush. By the time he finished to brush his hair, Hiei was already heading out of the bathroom.

"Is there something you forget to do, Hiei?" the redhead stopped him.

Hiei paused in front of the door "Like what?"

"Like washing your hands." Kurama pointed at the sink.

Hie's face shrank. What? "But I didn't touch it." he insisted, and then paused. Why was he giving excuses to a Youko, anyway? Kurama put away his hairbrush, and stood there, glaring intensely at him.

The fire demon rolled his eyes. This was exactly the way in which he'd been treated in the Black Tournament, sharing a room with Kurama. The Youko was a clean freak. "Fine." he grumbled and made himself some room near the sink. He washed his hands quickly and turned to exit the bathroom, not even bothering the towel, but Kurama stopped him yet again, making the short youkai to frown. What now?

"Could you please wait for me here?"

Hiei stared blankly at the redhead, before looking away "Hn." Kurama suddenly seemed to him so fragile. It was all because the death of a human. It made the dark haired youkai uncomfortable, because he wasn't able to understand the older demon's actions, let alone understand his grief. He watched the redhead as he brushed his teeth and washed his face. Hiei had never seen Kurama like that, which made his frown grow deeper. Little did he know that it took a great trust from the half-Youko to let Hiei watch him like this. More than that, it meant high respect in Youko's terms.

"Thanks, Hiei." Kurama said softly when he finished preparing himself. He had such lovely soft features, and yet, his eyes looked so desperate for something. Hiei wasn't sure what. His course of thought was disturbed though, when his hand was suddenly grabbed. He blinked. "Come." the half-Youko smiled down at him, and silently, led him out of the room. The fire demon let Kurama lead him, although a soft shade of red crossed his face at at their joined hands. He was silent.

Kurama stopped at the end of the corridor and let go of Hiei's hand, before opening one of the bedroom doors. He cast a weary glance at the fire demon "This is-... was my mother's bedroom." he said. Hiei watched him slowly turning the doorknob. They silently entered the room. It was very dark inside, as the curtains were blocking the morning sun light. Kurama walked towards the bed and ran one hand on it. It looked so organized, as though its owners had just made it up. It was a small room, a double bed, a chest of drawers, and a wall mirror.

On top of the cherry wooden chest of drawers, Hiei could see photographs arranged in a line, framed by silver metal. Kurama's mouth twitched as he paused in front of them and stared. He motioned for Hiei to come in with one hand, the fire demon walked in beside the fox demon, as he picked one framed photograph in hand "This is my mother." he pointed at the orange haired woman in the picture, who was standing next to a five year old Kurama, holding hands. They both smiled. Hiei lifted his hand to touch the smiling figures.

"She looks like you." he commented quietly as he heard a soft sniffling sound.

"Yeah..." the redhead took the photo and carefully put it back in the line. "Hiei..." he whispered "Could you stay for awhile?..."

Hiei looked up. He was certain now that the fox was broken. The ningen woman's death had such influence on him, the fire demon was utterly shocked inside. He had never seen and never thought he would see Kurama acting this way. No, this wasn't the demon Youko Kurama, but Shuichi, the soft spoken human. Denying his other businesses of which he had initially come to the ningenkai, Hiei couldn't help but let his heart soften, and agreed: "Hn." he snorted "I've planned to stay for a couple of days, anyway." he lied. Making excuses was one of his specialties, after all.

"This is very kind of you, Hiei. Thank you." the redhead smiled mildly at him.

Suddenly they both jumped in surprise to the sound of the phone ringing violently in the first floor "It's the phone." Kurama said in relief, and rushed out of the room and downstairs. It was even darker in the first floor. In the kitchen the phone kept ringing, until Kurama picked it up, slightly panting "Moshi-moshi, Minamino residence." he stressed his human father's name. This house was no longer Hatanaka's.

Hiei watched him from the bottom of the stairs, speaking politely to the person who was in the other line of the ningen machine. After more polite sayings and goodbyes, Kurama hanged up the phone somewhat heavily. His head was bowed, and for a long moment he did not utter a word. After some time, he finally sighed and turned to look behind his shoulder at the black figure that stood silently next to the staircase.

"It was Meiou High School's principal," the redhead explained briefly "Apparently, my former stepfather didn't bother to inform the school that mother-..." he paused "...passed away."

"Where is he?" Hiei walked further from the shadows, and stepped in the light "Where are the others?" he repeated, after the half-Youko didn't reply.

"They have left." Kurama whispered "When mother died, Hatanaka took Shuichi with him and left. I don't know where they are now." he leaned his body to the wall. Hiei was... furious. He remembered the fox demon talking about his family after both the Dark Tournament and the Makai Tournament. He had been so glad to come home to his loving ningen family, the one he had never had as a Youko. He had talked about his new family members, and that his mother had been very happy with her wedding. Now, it was all gone. There he was, alone, like a used old rug, abandoned. His so called family didn't care. To think that he had wanted to sacrifice his life for her, before... to remain in this fragile ningen form, to die like their weak race. He'd been willing to give her all his life. It had been his family. Now, there was none.

Hiei was furious.


	3. Chapter 3: Cypress

**A/N: **Hi everyone, I'm sorry for the big wait again, I was really busy, and this chapter had a lot of editting work to do, it was terrible. I try to make them more in character, I hope they're not too much OOC. I think that Kurama's character is the hardest, because I need his change of character to be explainable. But if you think that his behavior is not explained enough please let me know, and I'll think about something to fix it. This chapter here is pretty much a "bonus" chapter, there isn't much developement, so will be the next 2 chapters. I'm sorry for this, I considered not publishing them, but well I'll just see what you guys think first.

Disclaimer: I do not own YuYu Hakusho!

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: Cypress [His Miserable Night]<strong>

A dark figure half lay on the window sill, its long black cloak carefully gathered in lap. The window was half opened, as the leaves and branches on the tree next to Kurama's house were studied by blank narrow orbs of red. They looked tired. Hiei sighed. It had been a couple of days since he arrived at the Ningenkai. He had received a hologram orb from Alaric which contained the order for him to get back to the Makai. He knew that he had to go soon, he knew that he should have been going by then, and yet. His gaze traveled to the sleeping figure that was hidden by red and white blanket.

It had the pattern of a moon, stars, Mercury, Venus, Pluto, Mars. It had the pattern of the universe, as though it were supposed to teach its owner about the realms of beyond. In actuality, it was a childish blanket, probably one that reminded Kurama of his mother, Hiei assumed. What else could it be? He figured from the demon fox's expression that his sleep wasn't as calm as he wished it to be. A strong hand clutched the colorful fabric in a loose fist. Hiei couldn't bring himself to leave just yet, he played with the dark purple orb with his fingers, watching his reflection against its smooth cold surface, before black flames emerged to consume it.

The human family had been Kurama's hope for new life, as a new person, regardless of his past as a ruthless bandit. Hiei couldn't really understand, yet he felt pity. Indeed, even demons could pity others. They just weren't used to show it like humans were. The dark youkai stared at the weak pale light of the moon, which danced through the glass into the room and shined on it. It shined on the floor, then climbing up toward the sleeping figure on the single bed, it settled on it, embracing it. For a long moment, Hiei stared. He could feel the block of energy being broken around the human form, and a burst of demonic energy surge up and around as crimson strands of hair mixed with silver ones and soon were replaced by longer locks, furry ears poking through the top of the head.

The silver Youko opened his golden orbs then, before rising his body to sit up on the edge of the bed, wearing his beautiful attire of white, which served him long time ago as a spirit of the Youko god, Inari. Lifting his head, he looked up at the fire demon on the window sill, his siren gaze brightening his pale face. He was smiling, such a confusing smile – painful, denying – as he stood up and approached the window "Are you admiring the full moon?" his voice was smooth as silk, and pleasant like the sound of harp music, so different than the human Shuichi's voice.

A long pale hand landed on the fire demon's shoulder. Kurama's appearance and new voice did not seem to affect Hiei. He still felt Kurama's energy, and it felt the same, only more powerful now, more inhumane. The silver hair which brushed lightly against his cloak and nape though, made him more aware of the Youko's different behavior. Suddenly, Hiei felt Kurama to be much older, an experienced demon, with thousands of years of living that he, the fire demon, didn't know about.

It was a frightful thought. That in this silky voice, was hidden threat and a power of an S-class demon, a master of strategy.

The Youko's free hand moved to the window's door, gracefully pushing it aside, like a Youko would do. The window was opened wide, and the Youko, ignoring Hiei, climbed to the sill.

"Kurama...?"

But the silvered Youko already jumped to the garden below and disappeared into the night.

"That...!" with a cry of annoyance, Hiei appeared standing on the windowsill. _Damn that Youko... He can't just wander around this human town in that form. He gives off too much ki. _Hiei jumped to the ground, where the Youko stood seconds ago, and pulled off the white ward of his forehead. The purple dark shade of his Jagan eye's pupil looked around in fury, studying the streets nearby. It didn't take long to find the escaping demon, sitting on top of a building not too far away.

How come he got to help those stupid ningens? He just hoped that no low level youkai was nearby, thus the fire demon mused as he fled away Kurama's garden and jumped in demonic speed on top of random roofs, approaching an old building of some sort. There, he could detect the white shinning figure on the top of it, lying calmly, staring at the sky.

"Kurama."

The silver demon watched him land on the roof.

"When I was a mere child, my mother told me that my father was a shiny star at the night sky, and every time that I wanted to talk to him, I should wait for the night to fall and look for his star. How naïve." he huffed "Now, I assume that I have two stars to look for." the Youko's golden eyes didn't bother to look at Hiei's direction, and remained immobilized by the invisible city's stars. Hiei sighed quietly. He didn't know how to respond, he didn't understand this human feelings. In fact, he had never had to deal with this kind of things.

"Kurama..." he had never thought that he would want to say such a thing, but desperate times called for desperate measures "It would be better for you to change back to that human form." he said sternly. Of course, he didn't expect to order a Youko around, but giving off such ki attracted low level youkais, and Kurama knew that very well. Whether the fox demon wanted to release some of his depression through fighting wasn't Hiei's business, of course, and yet; he was... worried "Go home."

The Youko smirked to himself, and eventually turned to face the smaller demon "Home?" his expression was blank "I don't have a home anymore," he said in a low tone "Not in here and not in there."

Kurama made things difficult again, like he usually did "Hn." Hiei snorted. What on earth was he supposed to do? It wasn't his business, indeed. Kurama was his own person, and Hiei knew very well that he shouldn't cross their line of friendship. Forcing a Youko to do things was a bad and foolish thing to do. They might have looked like delicate creatures, but they actually were very dangerous. And while he was questioning himself whether he should leave the other be as he was, or persuade him to go back, Kurama vanished from sight quicker in half a second than Hiei himself.

_That Youko... _What was he intending to do so late at night in his demon form? Was he expecting Hiei to follow him? Was it one of his stupid Youko games? And here he chased that fox again, his Jagan gleaming red and purple, as he rested on the top of one tree, looking around. Kurama's ki certainly decreased abruptly. Could it be that the other went back to his human form again? Hiei wished it would be so, but he couldn't just leave yet. He had stayed in the Ningenkai enough time for Kurama, he wasn't going to flee back to the Makai in this crucial moment.

He sensed the fox nearby, and fled again, this time a more subtle feel of soft energy. He noticed that he was led out of the quiet neighborhood, the surrounding slowly changed, becoming more and more wild, until they reached an area, which looked like a human forest. Hiei narrowed his eyes, pausing on top of a tall tree. His nostrils flared open at the smell of humans. Dead humans.

He heard a wail. A high pitched one which could break glass easily. The second wail was much more weaker than the first, though. Hiei clenched his teeth, he knew where Kurama was going, and he was hoping the fox wasn't going to do something foolish. Was he going mad?

At the edge of the small forest, Hiei saw a smaller hill, where the grass withdrew and let the naked earth show. It looked like a brown pale blanket made of a lot of small white stones. The grave yard was silent, but a mere sound of claws digging in the ground. Hiei landed from the tree he was standing, and walked slowly between the graves. A small rustle sound made his head turn around to see a small silvered animal digging in a path of seemingly fresh earth.

Hiei widened his eyes, almost disgusted. He didn't want to think that such a powerful demon fell in such despair because of a human. Of course, Kurama hadn't been attached to any human so closely before, Shiori was his first, how was he supposed to prepare himself for the worst to happen so quickly?

"Kurama." warned Hiei, and appeared behind the small animal spirit who dug the grave with its tiny paws. It only paused for a short while to have its red eyes gleam dangerously at the fire demon and wail harder "Damn you...!" Hiei froze, his ears ringing badly, but he didn't let it defeat him, he just moved quickly and grabbed the fox from behind. The Youko struggled and waved his nine tails in Hiei's face, wailing yet again. Its wail was horrible "Are you crazy, Kurama?-! What has happened to you? Do you think you can revive a human whose fate was to die? She is NOT a spirit such as you."

But no matter what he did, the howling became worse and worse. He didn't know Kurama could talk in his fox demon form and it scared him. Kurama wasn't only a demon, but a demonic spirit.

"Stupid Youko, give in!" he finally clutched the fox to his chest and fell on his back with the small animal squirming wildly in his arms. That's it, he didn't want to do it, but he had to hurt Kurama in order to calm him down again.

But just when he was about to put an end to that pointless fight, he heard someone calling: "Who's there?" he cursed. Kurama didn't give up though, even as he saw an old man approaching them.

"That's it!" Hiei hissed and smacked Kurama in the face so hard that it made the Youko stop his struggle to whimper in pain "Serves you right." the fire demon took the chance to take off, holding the fox in his arms, he started to run to the forest, hearing the old man calling after them, he sped up his pace, feeling Kurama overcoming his injury and starting to wail again. Right into his ear, but Hiei just kept running, trying to ignore the pain. He wanted to get Kurama back to that ningen house and forget that that had ever happened. He would call Yusuke if he should.

Kurama kept howling, maybe even sobbing. Hiei wasn't sure, he only could think on one thing all their way out of the forest "Awoooooooooo!"

"Stop." he paused under a Cypress**,** and looked down in annoyance at the fox in his arms. The animal looked back at him, its red eyes dimmed "Your horrible screaming is hurting my ears." Kurama made a soft sobbing sound, and looked up at Hiei again, rather apologetic, before suddenly rising its body with its front legs up against Hiei's shoulders. The fire demon rose a questioning eyebrow at the gesture when suddenly he felt something warm and ticklish behind his left ear, licking it wildly "What the hell are you d-doing?" the wrinkle between his eyebrows smoothed out.

He bit his lower lip. This... This... This feeling, it...! He couldn't hold back, he inhaled in sharply, an abrupt laughing sound exiting his lips, before he couldn't help himself but to burst out laughing. He fell on his back the second time that night, still laughing, while the fox took the opportunity to stand on his chest, and kept licking his wounded ears "...S-Stop!" Hiei laughed "I-Idiot...! Ah!" he fell on his side laughing hard, and Kurama almost fell with him, but managed to jump beside the laughing demon, watching him curiously. This was definitely a side of Hiei demons and humans alike did not see every day.

Calming down a little, Hiei rose to sit up. He didn't intend to let his guard down like that, this was pretty disgraceful, wasn't it? Ah, whatever. He blinked when the small fox jumped to his lap and climbed on his shoulders again, licking his other ear playfully "Damn it, Kurama, you got me alright." he seemed pretty immune to any foxy tricks now as he rubbed his now wet ear, waiting for Kurama to stop. Well, at least now that stupid Youko was cheered up again. It was good enough for Hiei, although he would never admit it.

"Hm?" he blinked suddenly, a little surprised as he felt the Youko's tongue on his neck "Kurama..." he began dangerously as the fox stopped his tickling torture after one lick over Hiei's slightly parted lips.

"Awoo...?" the Youko eyed him playfully.

"You sure have fun in that form, don't you?" Hiei smiled in annoyance, and then moved to stand up, grumbling to himself something that sounded like "Youkos..." he then looked down at the small fox who still stood there and stared at him "Come on, change back to your human form." he ordered, but nothing happened, only that the fox began to wag his tail. This side of Kurama... really irked Hiei. His left eyebrow twitched as he reluctantly spread his arms again, and the fox jumped up to them with a pleasant sound "Why you little..."

He disappeared.


End file.
